1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus provided with a color measuring device for measuring color patterns recorded on a sheet by ejecting ink on the sheet from a printing head, and a color measuring method in the recording apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is known an inkjet recording apparatus in which, for obtaining a desired color reproduction, the color image having been recorded is measured, a color calibration is performed based upon the measured data, and the result is reflected in the subsequent image record data. At this time, a process is generally performed that comprises a step for recording on a sheet color patterns in each of which color patches each having ink of each color are arrayed in a lattice shape, a step for drying the color patterns, and next a step for moving a color measuring sensor in a width direction of the sheet to measure the color patterns one row by one row.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-254221, as the structure for shortening the time from recording completion to color measuring start, discloses a recording apparatus provided with a color measuring device in which a recording component, a color measuring component, and a drying component are arranged in that order in the conveying direction of a sheet, and proposes a sequence of recording, drying, and color measuring operations based upon this apparatus.
A color of an image on a sheet on which ink has been applied can change depending on the drying degree of the ink until the drying degree of the ink is increased to some extent to become stable. To obtain the desired color reproduction by performing a color calibration with high accuracy, it is desired to appropriately set the time from recording completion to color measuring start to make the drying degree of the ink at color measuring constant.
Incidentally it is known that in the inkjet recording apparatus, to prevent or improve an ejection defect caused by the clogging or the like of ink ejection openings provided in an inkjet head or ink stains on a surface of the inkjet head, a recovering operation of the inkjet head is performed. It is possible to successively perform more stable image formation by performing the recovering operation. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-254221 discloses the sequence of the recording, drying, and color measuring operations, but has no description referring to the recovering operation of the inkjet head with the aim at maintaining the stable ejection performance of the inkjet head.